Bodog Beat

Dutch poker player Julien Nuijten won the inaugural LAPT Rio event. (Image courtesy WikiMedia)

The first stop in the first year of the Latin American Poker Tour attracted a field of 314 players all putting up $2,500 to play in the history-making event. At the end of three days of play it would be Dutch poker player Julien Nuijten who would come out on top to take down the $222,940 first-place prize.

Nuijten was a force to be reckoned with at the final table of the event as he entered with the chip lead and took out four of his fellow final tablists on his way to the title. This is the first and biggest international poker tournament cash for the 19-year-old.

By all accounts the event was a success and drew a diverse crowd of poker players, including American Vitaly Kovyazin, who finished in fourth, and hometown-hero Eduardo Henriques, who left in fifth place. Here are the full final table placings and payouts:

1. Julien Nuijten – $222,940
2. Vitaly Kovyazin – $117,750
3. Nikolai Senninger – $86,350
4. Alex Brenes – $62,800
5. Eduardo Henriques – $47,100
6. Oliver Kugler – $31,400
7. Rafael Pardo – $23,550
8. Juan Carlos Burguillos – $15,700
9. Severin Walser – $11,775

The next stop on the LAPT is in San Jose, Costa Rica beginning May 22.

Charles Simmons writes poker news for the Bodog Beat.